Angry New Milford cop stars on YouTube

Updated 11:25 pm, Friday, January 4, 2013

NEW MILFORD -- A local police officer who appears in a popular YouTube video becoming increasingly belligerent with two delivery truck drivers on Railroad Street has been reprimanded for his actions, officials said Friday.

Police Chief Shawn Boyne acknowledged Friday that the video, taken from the officer's own police cruiser, is authentic, and he said it dates back a few years.

"The unofficial release of the video is most concerning," Boyne said.

The video, which was posted two weeks ago and has attracted more than 11,000 views and dozens of comments, shows a police officer yelling at the drivers to move their trucks.

The police officer's video tirade is laced with profanities.

"Move your truck now or you're going to get a ticket," the unnamed officer yells repeatedly at one of the drivers unloading boxes onto a hand cart.

"Can I bring this inside?" the driver asks in a calm voice.

"No," the officer screams. "You have to move the truck now."

"There is no need to yell, sir," the driver says.

"Yeah, I do need to yell, seeing as you don't understand," the officer screams. "Move your truck now, (expletive)."

More Information

To see the video, read this story on our website

Boyne said the incident occurred "several years ago," and that he was first informed about it when he became the department chief in October 2010.

"As true today as of that date (when the video was taken), the members of the New Milford Police Department are held to the highest standards," Boyne said in a statement released Friday to The News-Times. "The matter was thoroughly investigated and appropriate sanctions imposed to address the officer's conduct. I consider the personnel matter closed."

Mayor Pat Murphy, however, said the police department has begun an investigation into how the video was released.

"At this point we don't know how anyone got a hold of it," Murphy said. "I hope the investigation will provide us with some of those answers."

The user name of the person who posted the video, Martin Riggs, is a possible reference to the character with the same name played by Mel Gibson in the "Lethal Weapon" movie series. The user doesn't have any other videos on the site.

Murphy said the recordings taken by police cruisers "protect both the public and the employee, and this is a good example of that."

She said the police officer in the video is still an active member of the department.